1. Field of the Technology
The present disclosure relates generally to the field of determining safe zones and safe routes, and, more specifically, to systems and methods to track a device so as to determine safe zones and safe routes that the device frequents. These safe zones and safe routes are used to map complicated location behavior into location behavior scores that can be applied systematically for many different applications.
2. Related Art
Portable tracking devices that receive their location information through wireless connections are becoming more common. Location information can be obtained from GPS, cellular, Wi-Fi, or other radio frequency location modalities. The portable tracking functionality can be part of portable wireless devices such as smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, fitness monitors as well as dedicated trackers. These devices can be attached to, embedded in, or carried by animate as well as inanimate objects including humans, pets, vehicles, and other physical property.
The location information obtained by tracking devices can be transmitted wirelessly in real or non-real time to servers and systems that can use this information for a variety of purposes including asset tracking, location modeling, marketing, security profiling and authorization, and safety assurance.
Ascertaining the device location and movement is quickly becoming a prerequisite to understanding the behavior of the users of the device. The ability to quickly, frequently, efficiently, and securely obtain and use tracking data from portable tracking devices is important in many different applications. The challenges involved in determining where a device frequents and the routes that the device takes can stem from the sporadic check-in nature of the device. The sporadic check-in data can be due to a variety of factors including limited battery capacity, the device powering down, the device not moving, or lack of wireless coverage. The degree of certainly in a location determination can be an issue and the irregular timing in which location information is sent can pose challenges where timing accuracy is required.
Therefore, solutions are needed for a system and methods to conveniently and effectively track and calculate the zones and routes of a device in a sporadic check-in environment. Such a solution should be robust, relatively low-cost, and provide an accurate representation of the device's movements. Moreover, such a solution should not be overly complex and should be easy to deploy.